Watercraft control mechanism

Abstract

A watercraft includes a watercraft control mechanism that is capable of steering, decelerating, and / or trimming a watercraft without causing the stern to elevate and the bow to dive; steers or assists steering in off-power situations; steers, trims and / or decelerates a watercraft, or assists in steering, trimming, and / or decelerating a watercraft that can be stowed or retracted to minimize hydrodynamic drag at high speeds; steers, trims and / or decelerates a watercraft, or assists in steering, trimming, and / or decelerating a watercraft that does not become clogged or jammed by seaweed or flotsam or foreign objects floating in the water; and decelerates or assists in decelerating a watercraft in a smooth and stable manner when the watercraft is travelling at high speeds.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Application No. 60 / 316,269, filed Sep. 4, 2001, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,210 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.[0002] 1. Field of the Invention[0003] This present invention relates to watercraft control mechanism, and more particularly to watercraft control mechanism that provide enhanced, integrated steering, decelerating and trimming.[0004] 2. Description of Related Art[0005] In recent years, the demands of racers and recreational users alike for greater performance and maneuverability have driven the designers of watercraft to reconsider the control mechanisms used for steering, decelerating and trimming. Various mechanisms are known for steering, decelerating and trimming watercraft and the mechanisms may used alone or in combination.[0006] A watercraft may be steered by either turning the propulsion source, such as an outboard motor or a jet-propulsion...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018] It is a still further object of the invention to provide a watercraft control mechanism that decelerates or assists in decelerating a watercraft in a smooth and stable manner when the watercraft is travelling at high speeds.

Problems solved by technology

Deceleration by reversing thrust is the most common technique, but the deceleration is slow due to the time lag required to stop and then reverse the propeller.

The sudden diving of the bow makes the watercraft susceptible to flooding and instability and makes it difficult for the rider to remain comfortably seated and in control of the steering handle or wheel.

The flaps pivot such that the trailing edge is lower than the leading edge, thereby creating an undesirable elevating force at the stern.

Differential declination of the control flaps results in trimming and steering of the watercraft.

During braking, however, the downward sweep of the control flaps causes the stern of the watercraft to rise and the bow to dive, creating the potential for flooding and instability.

Diving of the bow is uncomfortable for the rider and makes control of the watercraft during hard braking maneuvers more difficult.

The scooping action of the vanes induces a great deal of turbulence on the underside of the watercraft, especially when braking at high speeds.

The amount of water that is channeled through the ducting system is also minimal and thus braking might, in some conditions, be too harsh.

The vanes and their associated attachment bases on the underside of the watercraft create drag at high speeds, even when fully retracted.

Large gears must also be provided to retract and close the vanes when they are scooping water which adds weight to the rear of the watercraft and causes the rear of the watercraft to sag.

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